Labour could be wiped out in Scotland as SNP support surges – polls

Britain's opposition Labour Party leader Ed Miliband (C) takes to the stage with members of the Scottish Labour Party during Labour's annual conference in Manchester. (Reuters/Darren Staples) / Reuters

The Scottish Labour Party has admitted it could lose “up to 20” seats in the Scottish Parliament, following a surge in support for the Scottish National Party (SNP).

The statements follow
the publication of two polls last week suggesting the SNP would
dominate a general election if it were held tomorrow, with one
poll by Ipsos Mori giving the party 52 percent – the
highest share recorded in its history.

Labour currently holds 41 seats in the Scottish Parliament,
although many have predicted the party will lose significant
ground in next year’s general election.

The SNP is currently the largest party in Holyrood, controlling a
total of 64 seats.

While the nationalists hold a mere six MPs in the House of
Commons, the poll indicates that the SNP could gain a staggering
54 seats in a general election.

The polls came hours before Labour Party leader Ed Miliband was
due to attend a gala dinner in Glasgow, where it was widely
believed he would unofficially begin his electoral campaign.

Speaking to STV’s Scotland Tonight last week, Miliband claimed
the polls showed a “snapshot” rather than a prediction
of next year’s general election, and that the surge was likely to
be temporary. “Let’s see where we are at the general
election,” he said.

The Labour Party has faced a battering in recent weeks,
particularly with the resignation of former Scottish Labour
leader Johann Lamont, who described some of her colleagues as
“dinosaurs.” Lamont accused the party leadership of
treating Scottish Labour “like a branch office of
London.”

Analysis from the Guardian also shows that the seats the Labour
Party risks losing are mainly constituencies where support for
independence in September was especially high.

The constituencies include Edinburgh East and Falkirk, both
Labour strongholds, where nearly half of all residents voted
‘yes’ to independence.

Meanwhile, the Labour heartlands of Glasgow and North Lanarkshire
saw the majority of residents back independence. Labour could now
face punishment for its support for the union.

“There is a fundamental hostility to Labour in former Labour
heartlands and we know how dreadful Ed Miliband’s trust ratings
are,” director of pro-independence think-tank Common Weal,
Robin Mcalpine, told the Guardian.

SNP deputy leader Nicola Sturgeon, who will succeed Alex Salmond
as leader later in November, said the polls are proof that the
Scottish independence referendum has “changed Scottish
politics forever.”

“At next year’s general election, we have the power to send a
shockwave through the Westminster establishment. By electing a
strong team of SNP MPs, the people of Scotland can ensure that
the Westminster parties are held to account on the panicked
promises they made to us all in the days leading up to the
referendum,” she said.

The statement comes as Labour MP Jim Murphy formally resigned as
shadow international development secretary to run for the
leadership of Scottish Labour.